March 18, 2010

June 7 and 8 at the Capri Hotel in Red Deer
What’s in store at the ASBA’s SGM?
Here’s a preview of what’s on the schedule for the June 7 and 8 Spring General Meeting. As you make your travel plans, keep in mind the Running to Win: Campaign School on June 9. It is also at the Capri Hotel in Red Deer. Separate registration is required. Online registration for SGM should be available the first week of April.

Politics in cyberspace
Political consultant Ken Chapman will talk about how social media is affecting how we govern and provide hands-on instruction for using Twitter. Bring your laptop for this session.

Applying critical thinking to your work as a trustee
University of Alberta professor Dr. Billy Strean will provide an overview of critical thinking skills and how they apply in the board room.

Savvy networking for politicians
Image consultant Joanne Blake will show you how to communicate and network effectively to boost your profile and establish strong connections with others. 

How Vision/Mission/Beliefs guided Battle River
School Division's response to hazing incident
Hear how Battle River School Division referred to their vision, mission and belief statements to develop a response to a highly publicized hazing incident.

Update ASBA Governance Task Force
The ASBA Governance Task Force is hard at work identifying the governance principles which are essential to an effective governance model for school boards. Task force chair Serafino Scarpino, Calgary Catholic’s representative on the ASBA Board of Directors, will update you on the task force’s work.

The Inspiring Education report and board governance 
Chinook’s Edge Superintendent Jim Gibbons is on the Inspiring Education Steering Committee, which is due to issue its final report this spring. Jim will outline what the report has to say about school board governance and the implications for school boards.

ASBA/school boards work to raise
profile of 2010 school board elections
The 2010 school board election package was mailed to jurisdiction offices March 16. The package included a handbook outlining strategies to promote the election; copies of the Become a school trustee brochure and a flyer advertising the campaign school and candidate information sessions. All resources are online. If your jurisdiction needs extra brochures, contact .  

Help spread the word about the October 18 election with a link from your jurisdiction’s website to the ASBA’s school board election section: www.asba.ab.ca/10_election/trustee-election-10.asp.

$99 workshop provide skills for running a great campaign
Register today for the ASBA’s
Running to win: Campaign school
The June 9 Running to win: Campaign school  in Red Deer will feature political consultant Ken Chapman talking about how to run an effective local campaign; image consultant Joanne Blake talking about making a great first impression and communications consultant Hank Goertzen on how to write and give an effective speech. The day will close with a panel of trustees telling stories from their personal campaign trail. This workshop is open to anyone thinking about running for the office of school trustee.

The $99 registration fee includes lunch, hand-outs and the GST. Click here to register today. The workshop takes place at the Capri Hotel in Red Deer – on the day after the ASBA’s annual spring meeting.

asba offers Free candidate
information sessions in six communities
The ASBA is offering six free candidate information sessions featuring retiring trustees talking about what it’s like to serve on school board. See the ASBA website for dates, times and registration.  

Thanks to retiring trustees Kerry Milder, Holy Spirit School Division; Jo-Lee Godfrey, Grasslands School Division; Heather Welwood, Northern Lights School Division; Alice Brick, Grande Prairie Catholic; and Gerry Gibeault, Edmonton Public for helping out with the candidate information sessions.

Nine gradspeeches available
Are you speaking at a graduation? Do you need a speech? Contact for electronic copies of speeches which you can tailor to meet your speaking needs.

No increase in membership
fees in proposed 2010-11 budget
Faced with rising rent costs ($122,777 more for the coming year), to achieve a balanced budget for 2010-11, the board of directors is proposing a budget with the following elements:

• no increase in membership fees
• increase the fee for legal services from $210/hr to $225/hr
• increase registration fees by $25
• draw $37,749 from the building reserve (revenue from sale of ASBA building)
• increase staff salaries by 2009 CPI (1.3 per cent)
• eliminate conference of choice for staff/board of directors for next year
• cancel the 2010-11 membership survey
• hold a stand-alone strategic planning retreat every second year rather than annually
• generally decrease or hold expenses to 2009 levels

Budget to be presented in Zones
Directors Lynda Akers and Bev Esslinger will present the proposed budget at these Zone meetings. The full membership will consider the budget at the Spring General Meeting.

Zone 1

March 25

St. Joseph High School
Grande Prairie

Zone 2/3

April 23

St. Anthony's
Edmonton

Zone 4

April 26

Red Deer Catholic Office
Red Deer

Zone 5

May 12

Heritage Inn
Taber

Zone 6

May 21

Coventry Hills Superstore
Calgary

For more information, contact Director Finance and Administration or at 1.780.451.7114.

New report highlights cost-free
solutions to infrastructure challenges
The Resolving Alberta’s School Infrastructure Deficit: School Boards’ Input Toward Solutions report identifies cost-free changes that would help address the challenges school boards are facing on the infrastructure front.  The report collates the results of a survey conducted by the ASBA Infrastructure Task Force in December 2009. Twenty-nine school boards responded with their ideas. The report has been shared with the minister of education.  Hard copies of the report will be shared with school boards.

In the news....
See the ASBA website for the latest headlines related to education. We post the latest education headlines from across the province each day. Top headlines include:
Wolf Creek to close 44-student Mirror School
Rocky View Schools looks to church basements
and warehouses in scramble for classroom space
Minister may halt Medicine Hat Catholic
plan to deal with overcrowded schools
Students make cellphone videos
of fight at Chestermere school
Prairie Rose School Division
closes 16-student Bindloss School
Plain language on report cards spells
support for teachers: Column Globe and Mail
Kansas City School Board closes
almost half its schools – cuts 285 teachers
Open boundaries impact neighborhood schools
Minister muses about “health” report card
for elementary students
Alberta Transportation considers province-wide standard for school zones: 7:30 a.m.  to 4 p.m.
Vending machine selling water
sparks debate in Toronto school
Medicine Hat Public runs 16th  telethon to
raise money for school equipment activities (PDF–61K)
Rhode Island school board fires staff
at school where students are failing

Read more>

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What's new @www.asba.ab.ca?

Agenda Board of Directors
March 11-12 (PDF–89K)

Highlights Board of Directors
February 11-12 (PDF–87K)
March 11-12 (PDF–89K)

Minutes Board of Directors
February 11-12 (PDF–98K)

New policy process and timelines
Policy process (PDF–83K)
Timelines (PDF–86K)

Online registration for 2010 election events
Running to win: Campaign school –
program and registration

Candidate informations sessions –
registration

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